Automobile theft-indicator.



.I. A. STEINIVIETZ.

I AUTOMOBILE THEFT INDICATOR.

APPLICATION EILEI) 1IINE25. 19.14.

Pat'emea m s l i aig fi o HIE III? EINI T 'PESIU U smrnisrarnnr ornaLfQsnrn-asflmmflnor PHILADELPHIA, rENn'sYLvAmA.

Application flied il'une 25, 1914. Serial No. 347,354; ,7

To all whom it may concern:

Be'it known that I, JOSEPH A. STEIN METZ, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Germantown, Philadelphia, Philadelphia county,and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved AutomobileTheft-Indicator, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to a device which is designed to prevent thetheft of automobiles which the drivers are obliged to leave standingatthe curb for any reason.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Heretofore various means have been prov videdfor rendering theautomobile inoperative, as, for instance, gasolene-locked valves,ignition circuit, cutouts, controller lever locks and steering postlocks. These have been found objectionable for variousreasons, so thatthey in present use. I

The object of the present invention is not to render.the automobilesupposedly inoperative, but to provide means which will have a deterenteffect upon persons who would otherwise steal the car. Therefore, theinvention contemplates the obscuring, blinding or obliterating of theserial number of license tag or a part thereof, so that any personoperating a car with the license so concealed would be a violator of thelaw and thereby render himself liable to arrest.

are not appliedto cars In all cities there are stringent regulationscompelling the conspicuous display of license tags at all times, andconsequently when a license is concealed, as contemplated by the presentinvention, the policemen and secret service oiiicials are immediatelyaware a concealed license is violator of the law but a thief. Thelicense tag covering means will be used only when the car. is leftstanding for any reason, and when the user returns to the car he will ofcourse first remove the license tag cover so as to expose the serialnumber.

In carrying out the invention the cover is so designed that it can beapplied to a license tag of standard requirements so as to be in thenature of an attachment which canbe readily applied or takenol,--and.when ap- .plied the cover will be locked securely in place, sothat to remove it without a key.

' will compel a resort to tools, which would immediately indicate that aperson is attempting to steal the car. p

In another embodiment of theinvention v of the fact that a persondriving a car with presumably not-only a and 2, or with the top edge asshown in which is di'iv en with a :a license tag or plate ofsta ws s,in.

the cover and "licenseitag or plate can combined as a unitary articleand em'bodled i so as to expose thelic'ense' tag, or to 'a do d positionover the tag 'to conceal theyseri a number, and in such latter positionthe cover will be suitably locked in place. The license tag cover maywith advantage be painted some. distinctive color different from "theusual license tag'color and bearing the l'egend Stolen car? .orequivalent "words, so that the oilicers of the law can see iatj'faglance that there has been a theft of the c r license tag cover themanner mentioned.

For ;a more complete understandin the invention, reference is to be hadto accompanying drawings which illustrate certain embodiments of the,invention; and wherein similar characters of referenceiridicatecorresponding partsin, all the views, and in whic Figure 1 isa frontform of the invention license tag and bracket; Fig. 2 is a verticalsection on theline 2- 2, Fig. 1 Fig,f3 is,a front view of a modifiedformof the' vention; Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 44, Fig. 3;and section of a-licensecover such as-shownin Fig. 3, with the exceptionthat a modified form of locking means is provided'., f, i '2 Referringto the drawings, A designae's 'n d de ig which is shown in the presentinstance at tached -to the usual supporting bracketB that is fastened tothe chassis of the auto mobile, the license plate being fastened/to thebracket in any suitable manner, as, for instance, by bolts 1 passingthroughthe bracket and through slots 2 of-the license plate, and onthe'bolts are wing or nther nuts? Of course, the license'plate canbestrapped to the axle or any. other s itable part of the vehicle bystraps passing th ou'igh the slots 2. The '.license-plateis a,da ;)ted,to be obscured, blinded or obliterated by a cover 0 which is shown inthe present instance as a rectangular plate which has at one edge abent-back flange 4 to form a hook which may be -engaged with the bottomedge of the license plate A, as shown in Fi 1 1 s. 3, 4 and 5, but inthis latter group of figur a'.

View outs seas.

shown applied to-fa Fig. e 5 is a vertical the bent-back flange or hook4' is open enough to embrace the license plate supporting bracket B. Theedge of the cover plate opposite from the hook-shaped flange i or 4 isadapted to be fastened with respect to the license plate by suitablelocking means. In the arrangement shownjn Figs. 1 and 2 the licenseplate A, bracketB and cover C are provided with alining openings 5, sothat the yoke or loop 6 of an ordinary pad lock 7 can be passed throughthe openings and thereby lock the cover plate in place. In Figs. 3 and4.- the loeking device 8 is arranged at the bottom of the cover plate C,

and is shown as of the tumbler type, and on the rear of theplate is thebolt 9 which engages behind the license plate, as shown in Fig 4%.. InFig. 5the license and cover plates A and C are provided with registeringopenings 10 to receive the yoke or loop 11 of a padlock 12. WVith thesevarious forms of license tag covers it will be understood that when thecar is in use and traveling, the

license cover will be ofcourse removed and carried on the vehicle insome convenient place. When the driver gets out and intends to leave thecar he will apply the license plate cover and lock it over the licenseplate so that it will be impossible for anyone to use the car Withoutthe police and secret service oilicials knowing that the car is beingdriven by an unauthorized person, who should of course be arrested notonly for failure to reveal the serial number of the license but fortheft of the car. When the owner or driver returns to the car he will ofcourse unlock the license plate cover and remove it from the license soas not to render himself liable to arrest.

The front face of the cover will preferably be painted a colorcontrasting with the usualcolor of the license plate, and it may alsobear the legend Stolen car or equivalent words.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the advantages of the construction and method of operationwill be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which theinvention appertains, and while I have described the device which I nowconsider tb be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have itunderstood that-the device shown is merely illustrative and that suchchanges may be made when desired as are within the S00 )e of theappended claims.

l laving thus described my invention, ll claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent:

1. As a new article of manufacture, an automobile theft-preventingdevice in the form of a license plate cover, said device comprising aplate having a hook at one edge and disposed at the rear for hookingover the edge of the license plate, and a look at the opposite edge toengage the license plate and cooperate with the said hook to hold thedevice in covering position on the license plate.

2. The combination of an automobile license bearing element, with acover adapted to conceal the serial number of the license, anddetachable means connecting and looking the cover on the said element.

3. The combination of an automobile license plate, with a detachablecover therefor having a hook at one edge to engage over an edge of theplate, and means for locking the license plate and cover together.

4. The combination of a license plate and a supporting bracket therefor,with a detachable cover adapted 'to conceal the license plate, and meansfor locking the cover and license plate and bracket together.

5'. The combination of a license plate and a supporting brackettherefor, with a license cover comprising a plate having one edge bentinto a hook-shaped flange to engage an edge of the license plate, and alooking means for securing the cover and license plate and brackettogether.

6. The combination of a license plate and a supporting bracket therefor,with a license cover comprising a plate having only one edge bent into ahook-shaped flange to engage an edge of the license plate, said bracketand license plate and cover having registering openings, and a lockhaving its yokepassing through the openings.

In testimony whereofT have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ.

Witnesses E. KENNETH NASON, H. G. VAN Corner.

